An impaired driver headed the wrong way on Interstate 5 Thursday night near Woodland died after hitting a Castle Rock driver head on.
All of the lanes in both directions near milepost 26 — north of exit 22 where Popeyes is located — were closed for hours as officials examined and cleared the wreck.
A Washington State Patrol press release says Billy L. Wells, Jr., 62, of Estacada, Oregon was headed south on northbound I-5 near Woodland around 8:20 p.m. when he hit Dillon G. Smith, 28, of Castle Rock, head on as he was driving north.
Wells died at the scene and Smith was injured and taken to PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center in Vancouver. Both wore seatbelts.
Drugs and alcohol were involved in the crash, the press release states, and both Wells' Mercedes and Smith's Chevy Suburban were totaled.
Washington State Department of Transportation reported on its X account at 8:24 p.m. Thursday both directions of the highway near milepost 26 — across from Martin Island — were closed. By 9:45 p.m., the department sent a press release saying southbound lanes had reopened.
By 11 p.m., the northbound lanes also reopened.
